[Thomas Wood, of Bellericay Mills in Essex.Who in 1764 was very Corpulent & unhealthy, but by an abstemious diet has recovered his health & reduced himself to a moderate size; he eats no kind of flesh, butter or cheese...]

[Ogborne Pinx.t 1773.] [Publish'd March the 1st 1774. by John Thane Printseller and Medallist in Gerrard Street Soho.] Mezzotint, proof before letters. 360 x 250mm. Mounted on album paper. A portrait of one of England's first dieters and vegetarians, Thomas Miller (1719-83), known as the 'Abstemious Miller' or the 'Ghastly Miller'. As a young man he was fond of fatty meat, milk and cheese, causing his weight to reach dangerous levels. By the age of 44 he was suffering from gout, heartburn, constipation and diarrhoea, a constant thirst and epilepsy. In 1764 a friend recommended a Venetian book, 'Discourses on a Sober and Temperate Life' by Luigi Cornaro; Miller started to follow the book's advice, reducing his comsumption of ale and meat, replacing them with meals of sea-biscuit mixed with skimmed milk. A paper describing the improvement in his health was published in the 'Medical Transactions' (Vol. 2 p. 259) by Sir George Baker of the Royal College of Physicians.CS ENA III 166, i of ii. Ex: Collection of The Hon. C. Lennox-Boyd.
[Ref: 4469] £460.00